Engineers Week at Isthmus
Engineers Week is a week dedicated to celebrating the work of engineers, highlighting the global need for engineers, and inspiring the next generation of engineers. Team Isthmus celebrated 2024 Engineers Week with our 5th annual Isthmus Spirit Week. Our Spirit Week tradition began in 2020, just a few weeks before the pandemic and as a result, has looked a little different each year since. In honor of five years of celebrating, let’s take a look back.
In 2020, the Isthmus office was a bustling environment. We had a work from anywhere policy but most of our team worked at the office in person every day. We celebrated the week with themed dress-up days, group photos, special treats, and a visit from the NoMythic robotics team which Isthmus has sponsored for several years. Students from Great River and Avalon schools brought their robot and shared a presentation during our all-team meeting. Little did we know that just a couple of weeks later, we would need to dynamically respond and the “where” in our work from anywhere would suddenly shift to remote for all.
2021 was the year of virtual celebration. Our dress-up day group photos were taken over Zoom and custom Isthmus argyle socks were sent to everyone through the mail. We competed in a challenging virtual Baby Photo contest and even managed some virtual bowling in place of our annual Isthmus Winter Bowl. Despite the circumstances, we had a fun and engaging week.
Our celebration in 2022 was still mostly virtual but we did enjoy an argyle-themed Happy Hour in the heated garage space next door. It was one of only a few in-person events that we had offered since March 2020.
In 2023, our hybrid week of activities included a discussion on engaging with the next generation of engineers through volunteer and mentorship opportunities. The culmination of the week was meant to be our first Isthmus Chili Cook-off since 2020 until Mother Nature had other ideas. A snowstorm pushed the event a couple weeks later into March.
For 2024, we continued with a mix of virtual and in-person activities to accommodate the hybrid work environment that our team has settled into. We showed our Isthmus pride on Monday with Isthmus Day and dug into the theme of Welcome to the Future with a presentation on AI during Tech Tuesday.
Wednesday was the day to show our college pride. A pizza lunch for our newly launched Young Professionals Group (and those of us who are young at heart) brought energy and a sizeable number of team members to the office. As our office is currently undergoing a remodel, it was exciting to welcome our team back to our newly refreshed First Floor workspace.
New in 2024 was crafting! We offered a DIY Bracelet station with custom Isthmus charms and assorted beads. It was a fun opportunity to take a quick, creative break.
On Thursday, we had temperatures in the 50s (in February!) and an even more full house for our annual Chili Cook-off. Nine team members brought the heat with their chili entries which made for a tasty and tough competition! After the votes were tallied, Kristin emerged as our new champion and can proudly display the golden ladle trophy for the next year.
We closed out the week with our traditional Flannel Friday and cookies from the Cookie Cart at the office. In the evening several team members represented Isthmus at the ACEC/MN Engineering Excellence Awards Gala where the Hwy 87 Complete Streets, Frazee project earned an Honor Award.
It was a busy week of working, collaborating, connecting, and celebrating our team, our work, and our industry. Happy Engineers Week!
